Lithium secondary battery comprising tungsten composite oxide

ABSTRACT

In a lithium secondary battery provided with a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte, a tungsten oxide W20O58 or W18O49, or the tungsten oxide to which lithium is added, or a tungsten composite oxide comprising a tungsten oxide containing at least one type of metal element selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni and having a W20O58-type or W18O49-type crystal structure or the tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as a positive electrode active material for said positive electrode or a negative electrode active material for said negative electrode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a lithium secondary battery provided with a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte, and more particularly, to a lithium secondary battery whose charge/discharge cycle performance is improved upon improvement of a positive electrode active material used for its positive electrode or a negative electrode active material used for its negative electrode.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, secondary batteries have begun to be used in various fields such as electronic equipment and the like. Lithium secondary batteries are attracting great attention as one of new-type batteries having high power and high energy density, and various efforts have been made to develop such lithium secondary batteries.

In order to improve charge/discharge cycle performance of such lithium secondary batteries, one so adapted as to employ as a negative electrode active material an oxide such as tungsten trioxide which is lithiumized has been proposed, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei8(1996)-241707.

Unfortunately, however, the above-mentioned tungsten trioxide has an unstable crystal structure, as described in the literature (D. J. Murphy, F. J. Di Salvo, J. N. Carides and J. V., Mat. Res. Bull., 13, 1395, 1978). When the tungsten trioxide is used as a negative electrode active material in a lithium secondary battery, the tungsten trioxide is degraded in capacity of occluding and discharging lithium due to the transformation of its crystal structure. Accordingly, there still exists a problem that the battery cannot attain an adequate improvement in charge/discharge cycle performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to improve charge/discharge cycle performance of a lithium secondary battery provided with a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte upon improvement of a positive electrode active material used for said positive electrode or a negative electrode active material used for said negative electrode.

A lithium secondary battery according to the present invention is a lithium secondary battery provided with a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte, wherein a tungsten oxide W₂₀O₅₈ or W₁₈O₄₉, or the tungsten oxide to which lithium is added is used as a positive electrode active material for said positive electrode or a negative electrode active material for said negative electrode.

In the above-mentioned lithium secondary battery, tungsten oxide W₂₀O₅₈ or W₁₈O₄₉ used as the positive electrode active material or the negative electrode active material has a stable crystal structure. Accordingly, the composite oxide hardly suffers the transformation of its crystal structure and hence, is hardly degraded in capacity of occluding and discharging lithium. The lithium secondary battery with excellent charge/discharge cycle performance thus can be obtained.

Further, a lithium secondary battery according to the present invention is a lithium secondary battery provided with a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte, wherein a tungsten composite oxide comprising a tungsten oxide containing at least one type of metal element selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni and having a W₂₀O₅₈-type or W₁₈O₄₉-type crystal structure or the tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as a positive electrode active material for said positive electrode or a negative electrode active material for said negative electrode.

The literature (Binary Alloy Phase Diagrams, 1986, American Society for Metals: M—O binary phase diagram) shows that the metal element M, which is selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni, in the above-mentioned composite oxide forms a stable compound whose decomposition temperature is more than 1000° C. in combination with an oxygen atom O. Further, W₂₀O₅₈ or W₁₈O₄₉ is used as a tungsten oxide to contain at least one type of metal element selected from the group consisting of Cu, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni.

When the metal element M selected form the group consisting of Cu, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni is added to the tungsten oxide to give a tungsten composite oxide having a W₂₀O₅₈-type or W₁₈O₄₉-type crystal structure, the metal elements M are incorporated in some of crystal lattices of W₂₀O₅₈ or W₁₈O₄₉ to attain a relatively strong chemical bond with oxygen atoms O, thereby stabilizing the crystal structure of the tungsten composite oxide.

Accordingly, when the above-mentioned tungsten composite oxide having a W₂₀O₅₈-type or W₁₈O₄₉-type crystal structure or the tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as a positive electrode active material or a negative electrode active material in a lithium secondary battery, the crystal structure of the tungsten composite oxide is further prevented from being transformed and hence, degradation in capacity of occluding and discharging lithium is further prevented. The lithium secondary battery with more excellent charge/discharge cycle performance thus can be obtained.

Further, when a tungsten composite oxide represented by a chemical formula M_(x)W_(y)O_(z) (wherein M denotes at least one type of metal element selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni; and the conditions of 0.005<x/(x+y)<0.2 and z=58 or 49 are satisfied) and having a W₂₀O₅₈-type or W₁₈O₄₉-type crystal structure is used as a positive electrode active material or a negative electrode active material in a lithium secondary battery, the battery can attain still more excellent charge/discharge cycle performance because the crystal structure of the tungsten composite oxide is further stabilized.

When other element such as Cd, La, Ce, Sm, or Mo, which forms highly stable compound in combination with an oxygen atom O as described above, is used as the metal element M in the above-mentioned tungsten composite oxide, the resultant composite oxide is still expected to be effective in improving charge/discharge cycle performance of a lithium secondary battery.

When the above-mentioned tungsten oxide, the above-mentioned tungsten composite oxide, or the tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as a positive electrode active material in the lithium secondary battery of the present invention, various materials generally used in lithium secondary batteries may be used as a negative electrode active material. Examples of a usable material include carbon materials capable of electrochemically occluding and discharging Li, such as natural graphite, artificial graphite, coke, and calcined products of organic substances; Li alloys such as an Li—Al alloy, an Li—Mg alloy, an Li—In alloy, and an Li—Al—Mn alloy; and Li metals. However, when the Li alloys or Li metals is used as the negative electrode active material, branch-like dendrite crystals grow during the charging and discharging of the battery so that a short circuit may occur in the battery. Therefore, it is preferable to use the carbon materials as the negative electrode active material.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned tungsten oxide, the above-mentioned tungsten composite oxide, or the tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as a negative electrode active material in the lithium secondary battery of the present invention, various materials generally used in lithium secondary batteries may be used as a positive electrode active material. For example, it is preferable to use a lithium-containing transition metal oxide such as LiCoO₂, LiNiO₂, LiMn₂O₄, LiMnO₂, LiCo_(0.5)Ni_(0.5)O₂, LiNi_(0.7)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.1)O₂, LiCo_(0.9)Ti_(0.1)O₂, or LiCo_(0.5)Ni_(0.4)Zr_(0.1)O₂.

Then, a case where the tungsten oxide, the tungsten composite oxide, or the tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as the positive electrode active material and a case where the same is used as the negative electrode active material are compared with each other. As a result, it was found that the lithium secondary battery employing the tungsten oxide, the tungsten composite oxide, or the tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide to which Li is added as the positive electrode active material requires higher charging voltage, whereby the non-aqueous electrolyte solution is liable to be decomposed. Accordingly, it is preferable to use the tungsten oxide, the tungsten composite oxide, or the tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide to which Li is added as the negative electrode active material.

Further, in the lithium secondary battery according to the present invention, the above-mentioned tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide used as the positive electrode active material or the negative electrode active material can be synthesized by calcining each element to compose the composite oxide, a compound containing the element, and the mixture of these.

When they are calcined at temperatures of less than 400° C. to obtain the above-mentioned tungsten composite oxide, the above-mentioned metal element M may not be sufficiently dispersed in crystal lattices of W₂₀O₅₈ or W₁₈, O₄₉. On the other hand, when they are calcined at high temperatures of more than 1500° C., calcined products melt, resulting in uneven composition of the tungsten composite oxide when they are cooled down to room temperature, as shown in W—O binary phase diagram in the above-mentioned reference (Binary Alloy Phase Diagrams, Vol.2, p1798 (1986), American Society for Metals). Accordingly, when the lithium secondary battery employs as the positive electrode active material or the negative electrode active material the tungsten composite oxide calcined at temperatures of less than 400° C. or more than 1500° C., it is difficult to sufficiently improved the charge/discharge cycle performance of the battery. Therefore, it is preferable to use the tungsten composite oxide obtained by being calcined at temperatures of not less than 400° C. and not more than 1400° C.

The lithium secondary battery according to the present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned tungsten oxide, the above-mentioned tungsten composite oxide, or the tungsten oxide or tungsten composite oxide to which lithium is added is used as a positive electrode active material used for its positive electrode or a negative electrode active material used for its negative electrode. It is to be noted that a non-aqueous electrolyte used in the lithium secondary battery is not particularly limited and any known non-aqueous electrolytes generally used in lithium secondary batteries may be used.

As such a non-aqueous electrolyte, a non-aqueous electrolyte solution obtained by dissolving a solute in an organic solvent or a solid electrolyte may be used.

Examples of an organic solvent to be used in the non-aqueous electrolyte solution include cyclic carbonic esters such as ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate, and butylene carbonate; chain carbonic esters such as dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, and methyl ethyl carbonate; sulfolane; tetrahydrofuran; 1,3-dioxolane; 1,2-diethoxyethane; 1,2-dimethoxyethane; ethoxymethoxyethane; and the like. These solvents may be used alone or in combination of two or more types.

Further, examples of a solute to be dissolved in the above-mentioned organic solvent include lithium compounds such as LiPF₆, LiBF₄, LiCF₃SO₃, LiN(CF₃SO₂)2, LiN(C₂F₅SO₂)2, LiN(CF₃SO₂) (C₄F₉SO₂), LiC(CF₃SO₂)₃, and LiC(C₂F₅SO₂)₃,

Furthermore, examples of a usable solid electrolyte include a polymer electrolyte comprising a polymer such as polyethylene oxide or polyacrylonitrile containing the above-mentioned solute therein, a gelled polymer electrolyte comprising the above-mentioned polymer impregnated with the above-mentioned non-aqueous electrolyte solution, and an inorganic solid electrolyte such as LiI and Li₃N.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate specific embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional illustration showing the internal construction of each of the lithium secondary batteries fabricated in examples and comparative examples of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between a molar ratio of Mn to the sum of Mn and W[x/(x+y)] in Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ as a positive electrode active material and a percentage of capacity retention of the obtained lithium secondary battery.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following examples specifically illustrate lithium secondary batteries according to the present invention. Further, comparative examples will be taken to make it clear that the lithium secondary batteries of the examples are improved in charge/discharge cycle performance upon improvement of stability of positive electrode active materials or negative electrode active materials. It should be appreciated that the lithium secondary batteries according to the present invention are not particularly limited to those in the following examples, and various changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

EXAMPLE 1

In the present example, a positive electrode and a negative electrode were fabricated in the following manner, and a non-aqueous electrolyte solution was prepared in the following manner, to fabricate a flat-type lithium secondary battery as shown in FIG. 1.

Fabrication of Positive Electrode

In fabricating a positive electrode, reagents of W and WO₃ respectively having purity of 99.9% or more were used, and they were scaled so that atomic ratio of W:O would be 20:58. Subsequently, these reagents were mixed together in a mortar, after which the resultant mixture was subjected to press-molding at a pressure of 115 kg/cm² using a die having a diameter of 17 mm. The mixture thus molded was then calcined for 10 hours at 1000° C. in an atmosphere of mixed gas comprising oxygen and nitrogen in a volume ratio of 2:3, to obtain a calcined product of W₂₀O₅₈. Subsequently, the calcined product of W₂₀O₅₈ was crushed in a mortar to obtain W₂₀O₅₈ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm. The powder thus obtained was used as a positive electrode active material.

Then, the W₂₀O₅₈ powder as the positive electrode active material, carbon powder as a conductive agent, and polyvinylidene fluoride powder as a binding agent were mixed in a weight ratio of 85:10:5. N-methyl-2-pyrolidone solution was further added to the resultant mixture, and the mixture was brought into a slurry. Next, the slurry was applied to one side of an aluminum foil having a thickness of 20 μm as a positive electrode current collector by means of the doctor blade coating method. The slurry on the positive-electrode current collector was dried at 150° C. and was then punched out to obtain a disk-like positive electrode having a diameter of 17 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm.

Subsequently, lithium hexafluorophosphate LiPF₆ was dissolved in a concentration of 1 mol/1 in a mixed solvent containing ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate in the volume ratio of 1:1 to prepare an electrolyte solution. A microporous film made of polypropylene was interposed between the positive electrode fabricated in the above-mentioned manner and a lithium metal in the electrolyte solution thus prepared. In this state, the lithium metal was electrolyzed with constant current of 100 μA up to 1.0 V (vs. Li/Li⁺), so that lithium is intercalated in the positive electrode.

Fabrication of Negative Electrode

In fabricating a negative electrode, natural graphite powder was used as a negative electrode active material. The natural graphite powder and polyvinylidene fluoride as a binding agent were mixed in a weight ratio of 95:5. N-methyl-2-pyrolidone solution was further added to the resultant mixture, and the mixture was brought into a slurry. Next, the slurry was applied to one side of a copper foil having a thickness of 20 μm as a negative-electrode current collector by means of the doctor blade coating method. Subsequently, the slurry on the negative-electrode current collector was dried at 150° C. and was then punched out to obtain a disk-like negative electrode having a diameter of 17 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm.

Preparation of Non-aqueous Electrolyte Solution

In preparing a non-aqueous electrolyte solution, a mixed solvent containing ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate in a volume ratio of 1:1 was used. Lithium hexafluorophosphate LiPF₆ was dissolved as a solute in the mixed solvent in a concentration of 1 mol/1 to prepare a non-aqueous electrolyte solution.

Fabrication of Battery

In fabricating a lithium secondary battery, as shown in FIG. 1, a microporous film made of polypropylene and impregnated with the above-mentioned non-aqueous electrolyte solution was interposed as a separator 3 between the positive electrode 1 and the negative electrode 2 respectively fabricated in the above-mentioned manners, after which they were contained in a battery case 4 comprising a positive-electrode can 4 a and a negative-electrode can 4 b, and the positive electrode 1 was connected to the positive-electrode can 4a via the positive-electrode current collector 5 while the negative electrode 2 was connected to the negative-electrode can 4 b via the negative-electrode current collector 6, to electrically separate the positive-electrode can 4 a and the negative-electrode can 4 b from each other by an insulating packing 7.

EXAMPLE 2

In the present example, in fabricating a positive electrode, reagents of W and WO₃ respectively having purity of 99.9% or more were used, and they were scaled so that atomic ratio of W:O would be 18:49. After that, the same procedure as that in the above-mentioned example 1 was taken to obtain W₁₈O₄₉ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm as a positive electrode active material.

A lithium secondary battery according to the example 2 was fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the W₁₈O₄₉ powder thus obtained was used as the positive electrode active material.

Comparative Example 1

In the comparative example 1, a lithium secondary battery was fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that only the type of the positive electrode active material was changed in the fabrication of the positive electrode in the example 1.

Next, each of the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 1 and 2 and the comparative example 1 fabricated as above was charged with constant current of 100 μA to a charge cut-off voltage of 2.4 V and was then discharged with constant current of 100 μA to a discharge cut-off voltage of 1.2 V at a temperature of 25° C. The above-mentioned charging and discharging were considered as one cycle. 50 cycles of charging and discharging were performed to measure discharging capacities at the first cycle time and the 50th cycle time. The ratio of the discharging capacity Q50 at the 50th cycle time to the discharging capacity Q1 at the first cycle time [(Q50/Q1)×100] was found as the percentage of capacity retention (%). The results were also shown in the following Table 1. In each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 1 and 2 and the comparative example 1, an average discharge voltage determined by dividing an integral value of the voltage up to the discharge cut-off voltage by the time period was approximately 1.6 V.

TABLE 1 percentage positive negative of capacity electrode active electrode active retention material material (%) example 1 W₂₀O₅₈ graphite 89 example 2 W₁₈O₄₉ graphite 88 comparative WO₃ graphite 50 example 1

As apparent from the result, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 1 and 2 respectively employing as the positive electrode active materials W₂₀O₅₈ and W₁₈O₄₉ presented far much higher percentage of capacity retention and were remarkably improved in charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary battery in the comparative example 1 employing WO₃ as the positive electrode active material.

EXAMPLES 3 to 9

In each of the examples 3 to 9, powder of a tungsten composite oxide represented by the chemical formula MW₁₉O₅₈, (wherein M denotes at least one type of metal element selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni) was used as a positive electrode active material. More specifically, there were used as positive electrode active materials MnW₁₉O₅₈ powder in the example 3; CuW₁₉O₅₈ powder in the example 4; VW₁₉O₅₈ powder in the example 5; CrW₉O₅ powder in the example 6; FeW₁₉O₅₈, powder in the example 7; CoW₁₉O₅₈ powder in the example 8; and NiW₁₉O₅₈ powder in the example 9, as shown in the following Table 2.

In fabricating each positive electrode active material represented by the above-mentioned chemical formula MW₁₉O₅₈, reagents of carbonate of the above-mentioned metal element M (M denotes Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni, respectively), W, and WO₃ respectively having purity of 99.9% or more were used, and they were scaled so that atomic ratio of M:W: O would be 1:19:58. After that, the same procedure as that in the above-mentioned example 1 was taken to obtain each powder of the tungsten composite oxide represented by the above-mentioned chemical formula MW₁₉O₅₈ and having an average particle diameter of 10 μm. The powder thus obtained was used as a positive electrode active material. When each of the powder was analyzed by an X-ray diffraction method, it was found that the powder had a similar crystal structure to that of W₂₀O₅₈.

Each lithium secondary battery according to the examples 3 to 9 were fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the powder of the tungsten composite oxide represented by the above-mentioned chemical formula MW₁₉O₅₈ was used as the positive electrode active material.

With respect to each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 3 to 9,the discharge capacities at the first cycle time and at the 50th cycle time were measured in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned examples 1 and 2, to find the percentage of capacity retention (%). The results, along with that of the above-mentioned example 1, are shown in the following Table 2. Further, in each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 3 to 9, an average discharge voltage determined by dividing an integral value of the voltage up to the discharge cut-off voltage by the time period was also approximately 1.6 V.

TABLE 2 negative percentage positive electrode of capacity electrode active active retention material material (%) example 1 W₂₀O₅₈ graphite 89 example 3 MnW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 93 example 4 CuW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 91 example 5 VW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 91 example 6 CrW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 91 example 7 FeW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 90 example 8 CoW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 91 example 9 NiW₁₉O₅₈ graphite 90

As apparent from the result, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 3 to 9 employing as the positive electrode active materials MW₁₉O₅₈ (wherein M denotes Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni, respectively) presented the further increased percentage of capacity retention and were further improved in charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary battery in the example 1 employing W₂₀O₅₈, as the positive electrode active material.

EXAMPLES 10 to 16

In each of the examples 10 to 16, powder of a tungsten composite oxide represented by the chemical formula MW₁₇O₄₉ (wherein M denotes at least one type of metal element selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni) was used as a positive electrode active material. More specifically, there were used as positive electrode active materials MnW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 10; CuW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 11; VW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 12; CrW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 13; FeW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 14; CoW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 15; and NiW₁₇O₄₉ powder in the example 16, as shown in the following Table 3.

In fabricating each positive electrode active material represented by the above-mentioned chemical formula MW₁₇O₄₉, reagents of carbonate of the above-mentioned metal element M (M denotes Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni, respectively), W, and WO₃ respectively having purity of 99.9% or more were used, and they were scaled so that atomic ratio of M:W: O would be 1:17:49. After that, the same procedure as that in the above-mentioned example 1 was taken to obtain each powder of the tungsten composite oxide represented by the above-mentioned chemical formula MW₁₇O₄₉ and having an average particle diameter of 10 μm. The powder thus obtained was used as a positive electrode active material. When each of the powder was analyzed by an X-ray diffraction method, it was found that the powder had a similar crystal structure to that of W₁₈O₄₉.

Each lithium secondary battery according to the examples 10 to 16 were fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the powder of the tungsten composite oxide represented by the above-mentioned chemical formula MW₁₇O₄₉ was used as the positive electrode active material.

With respect to each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 10 to 16, the discharge capacities at the first cycle time and at the 50th cycle time were measured in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned examples 1 and 2, to find the percentage of capacity retention (%). The results, along with that of the above-mentioned example 2, are shown in the following Table 3. Further, in each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 3 to 9, an average discharge voltage determined by dividing an integral value of the voltage up to the discharge cut-off voltage by the time period was also approximately 1.6 V.

TABLE 3 negative percentage positive electrode of capacity electrode active active retention material material (%) example 2 W₁₈O₄₉ graphite 88 example 10 MnW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 92 example 11 CuW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 90 example 12 VW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 90 example 13 CrW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 90 example 14 FeW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 90 example 15 CoW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 91 example 16 NiW₁₇O₄₉ graphite 90

As apparent from the result, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 10 to 16 employing as the positive electrode active materials MW₁₇O₄₉ (wherein M denotes Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni, respectively) presented the further increased percentage of capacity retention and were further improved in charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary battery in the example 2 employing W₁₈O₄₉ as the positive electrode active material.

EXAMPLES 17 to 23

In the examples 17 to 23, composite oxides of Mn and W represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈, were used as positive electrode active materials. The composite oxides were varied in a molar ratio of Mn to the sum of Mn and W[x/(x+y)] as shown in the following Table 4. More specifically, there were used as positive electrode active materials Mn_(0.1)W_(19.9)O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.005 in the example 17; Mn_(0.2)W_(19.8)O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.01 in the example 18; Mn_(0.5)W_(19.5)O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.025 in the example 19; Mn₂W₁₈O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.1 in the example 20; Mn₄W₁₆O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.2 in the example 21; Mn₅W₁₅O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.3 in the example 22; and Mn₆W₁₄O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is 0.25 in the example 23, as shown in the following Table 4. Except for the above, the same procedure as that in the above-mentioned example 1 was taken to fabricate each lithium secondary battery in the examples 17 to 23.

With respect to each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 17 to 23, the discharge capacities at the first cycle time and at the 50th cycle time were measured in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned examples 1 and 2, to find the percentage of capacity retention (%). The results, along with those of the above-mentioned examples 1 and 3, are shown in the following Table 4 and FIG. 2. Further, in each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 17 to 23, an average discharge voltage determined by dividing an integral value of the voltage up to the discharge cut-off voltage by the time period was also approximately 1.6 V.

TABLE 4 percentage positive of capacity electrode active retention material x/(x + y) (%) example 1 W₂₀O₅₈ 0 89 example 17 Mn_(0.1)W_(19.9)O₅₈ 0.005 90 example 18 MN_(0.2)W_(19.8)O₅₈ 0.01 91 example 19 Mn_(0.5)W_(19.5)O₅₈ 0.025 92 example 3 MnW₁₉O₅₈ 0.05 93 example 20 Mn₂W₁₈O₅₈ 0.1 91 example 21 Mn₄W₁₆O₅₈ 0.2 90 example 22 Mn₅W₁₅O₅₈ 0.25 89 example 23 Mn₆W₁₄O₅₈ 0.3 88

As apparent from the result, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 17 to 23 each employing the composite oxide of Mn and W represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ as the positive electrode active material presented the increased percentage of capacity retention and excellent charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary battery in the above-mentioned comparative example 1.

Further, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 3 and 17 to 21 each employing as the positive electrode active material the composite oxide represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ wherein the molar ratio of Mn to the sum of Mn and W[x/(x+y)] is in the range of 0.005 to 0.2 presented the increased percentage of capacity retention and were further improved in charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary battery in the example 1 employing as the positive electrode active material W₂₀O₅₈ which contains no Mn, and the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 22 and 23 each employing as the positive electrode active material the composite oxide represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is more than 0.2. Particularly, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 3 and 18 to 20 each employing as the positive electrode active material the composite oxide represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ wherein the above-mentioned molar ratio [x/(x+y)] is in the range of 0.01 to 0.1 presented the further increased percentage of capacity retention and were still further improved in charge/discharge cycle performance.

Although the present examples cited a case where the composite oxide of Mn and W represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ was used as a positive electrode active material, substantially the same results may be attained when the composite oxide of Mn and W represented by MnW₁₉O₄₉ is used as a positive electrode active material.

Further, although the present examples cited a case where the composite oxide of Mn and W was used as a positive electrode active material, substantially the same results may be attained when the composite oxide of W and one element selected from the group consisting of Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni is used as a positive electrode active material.

EXAMPLES 24 and 25

In each of the examples 24 and 25, MnW₁₉O₅₈ was used as a positive electrode active material to fabricate a positive electrode as in the above-mentioned example 3, and Li was not intercalated in the positive electrode.

Further, the example 24 employed a negative electrode obtained by punching a sheet of a lithium metal (Li metal) in a disk-like shape with a diameter of 17 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm in an argon atmosphere. On the other hand, the example 25 employed a negative electrode obtained by punching a sheet of an Li—Al alloy containing Li in 20.6 wt % in a disk-like shape with a diameter of 17 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm in an argon atmosphere.

Each lithium secondary battery according to the examples 24 and 25 was fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the above mentioned positive electrode and negative electrode were used.

Then, each of the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 24 and 25 fabricated as above was discharged with constant current of 100 μA to 1.2 V at a temperature of 25° C. Subsequently, each of the batteries was charged with constant current of 100 μA to a charge cut-off voltage of 2.4 V and was then discharged with constant current of 100 μA to a discharge cut-off voltage of 1.2 V. The above-mentioned charging and discharging were considered as one cycle. 50 cycles of charging and discharging were performed to measure discharging capacities at the first cycle time and the 50th cycle time. The ratio of the discharging capacity Q50 at the 50th cycle time to the discharging capacity Q1 at the first cycle time [(Q50/Q1)×100] was found as the percentage of capacity retention (%). The results were also shown in the following Table 5. An average discharge voltage determined by dividing an integral value of the voltage up to the discharge cut-off voltage by the time period was approximately 1.6 V in the lithium secondary battery according to the example 24 while approximately 1.45 V in the lithium secondary battery according to the example 25.

TABLE 5 negative percentage electrode of capacity positive electrode active retention active material material (%) example 24 MnW₁₉O₅₈ Li metal 72 example 25 MnW₁₉O₅₈ Li-Al alloy 74

As apparent from the result, even when the Li metal or Li—Al alloy was used as the negative electrode active material, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 24 and 25 each employing as the positive electrode active material MnW₁₉O₅₈ presented the increased percentage of capacity retention and excellent charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary battery in the comparative example 1.

Further, when the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 24 and 25 were compared with the lithium secondary battery in the above-mentioned example 3 employing the same positive electrode active material MnW₁₉O₅₈, it was found that the lithium secondary battery in the above-mentioned example 3 employing the natural graphite powder as the negative electrode active material presented the higher percentage of capacity retention. The reason for this is conceivably that when the carbon material such as natural graphite powder was used as the negative electrode active material, the possibility that branch-like dendrite crystals grow due to the charging and discharging of the battery so that a short circuit may occurs in the battery as in the case where the Li metal or Li alloy are used as a negative electrode active material was deleted.

EXAMPLES 26 to 28

In the examples 26 to 28, positive electrode active materials as shown in the following Table 6 were used to fabricate positive electrodes. More specifically, there were used LiCoO₂ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in the example 26; LiNiO₂ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in the example 27; and LiMn₂O₄ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in the example 28.

Then, the above-mentioned each powder as a positive electrode active material, carbon powder as a conductive agent, and polyvinylidene fluoride powder as a binding agent were mixed in a weight ratio of 85:10:5. N-methyl-2-pyrolidone solution was further added to the resultant mixture, and the mixture was brought into a slurry. Next, the slurry was applied to one side of an aluminum foil having a thickness of 20 μm as a positive-electrode current collector by means of the doctor blade coating method. The slurry on the positive-electrode current collector was dried at 150° C. and was then punched out to obtain each disk-like positive electrode having a diameter of 17 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm. Lithium was not intercalated in each of the positive electrodes thus fabricated.

On the other hand, in fabricating each negative electrode, MnW₁₉O₅₈ powder, which was used as the positive electrode active material in the above-mentioned example 3, was used as a negative electrode active material. The MnW₁₉O₅₈ powder, carbon powder as a conductive agent, and polyvinylidene fluoride powder as a binding agent were mixed in a weight ratio of 85:10:5. N-methyl-2-pyrolidone solution was further added to the resultant mixture, and the mixture was brought into a slurry. Next, the slurry was applied to one side of a copper foil having a thickness of 20 μm as a negative-electrode current collector by means of the doctor blade coating method. The slurry on the positive-electrode current collector was dried at 150° C. and was then punched out to obtain a disk-like positive electrode having a diameter of 17 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm.

Each lithium secondary battery according to the examples 26 to 28 was fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the positive electrode and negative electrode fabricated as above were used.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

In the comparative example 2, a positive electrode fabricated using LiCoO₂ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm as a positive electrode active material as in the case of the above-mentioned example 26 was used while a negative electrode fabricated using WO₃ as a negative electrode active material was used.

A lithium secondary battery according to the comparative example 2 was fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the above-mentioned positive electrode and negative electrode were used.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES 3 to 5

In the comparative examples 3 to 5, the same positive electrodes as those in the above-mentioned examples 26 to 28 were respectively used. More specifically, there were used positive electrodes fabricated respectively using as positive electrode active materials LiCoO₂ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in the comparative example 3 as in the case of the above-mentioned example 26; LiNiO₂ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in the comparative example 4 as in the case of the above-mentioned example 27; and LiMn₂O₄ powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in the comparative example 5 as in the case of the above-mentioned example 28, as shown in the following Table 6.

Further, each of the comparative examples 3 to 5 employed as a negative electrode active material a lithium-tungsten composite oxide (Li—W composite oxide) obtained by electrochemically adding Li to WO₃. In electrochemically adding Li to WO₃, a microporous film made of polypropylene was interposed between the above-mentioned WO₃ and Li metal in an electrolyte solution obtained by dissolving lithium hexafluorophosphate LiPF₆ in a concentration of 1 mol/l in a mixed solvent containing ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate in the volume ratio of 1:1. In this state, the Li metal was electrolyzed with constant current of 100 μA, so that a molar ratio of Li:W would be 1.2 1.

Each lithium secondary battery according to the comparative examples 3 to 5 was fabricated in the same manner as that in the above-mentioned example 1 except that the above-mentioned positive electrode and negative electrode were used.

Next, each of the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 26 to 28 and the comparative examples 2 to 5 fabricated as above was charged with constant current of 100 μA to a charge cut-off voltage of 2.3 V and was then discharged with constant current of 100 μA to a discharge cut-off voltage of 0.7 V at a temperature of 25° C. The above-mentioned charging and discharging were considered as one cycle. 50 cycles of charging and discharging were performed to measure discharging capacities at the first cycle time and the 50th cycle time. The ratio of the discharging capacity Q50 at the 50th cycle time to the discharging capacity Q1 at the first cycle time [(Q50/Q1)×100] was found as the percentage of capacity retention (%). The results were also shown in the following Table 6. An average discharge voltage determined by dividing an integral value of the voltage up to the discharge cut-off voltage by the time period was approximately 1.1 V in each of the lithium secondary batteries according to the examples 26 to 28 and the comparative examples 2 and 3, approximately 1.0 V in the lithium secondary battery according to the comparative example 4, and approximately 1.2 V in the lithium secondary battery according to the comparative example 5.

TABLE 6 positive percentage electrode of capacity active negative electrode retention material active material (%) example 26 LiCoO₂ MnW₁₉O₅₈ 98 example 27 LiNiO₂ MnW₁₉O₅₈ 97 example 28 LiMn₂O₄ MnW₁₉O₅₈ 97 Comparative LiCoO₂ WO₃ 49 example 2 Comparative LiCoO₂ Li-W composite oxide 53 example 3 Comparative LiNiO₂ Li-W composite oxide 50 example 4 Comparative LiMn₂O₄ Li-W composite oxide 54 example 5

As apparent from the result, the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 26 to 28 respectively employing LiCoO₂, LiNiO₂, and LiMn₂O₄, which are all lithium-containing transition metal oxides, as the positive electrode active materials and MnW₁₉O₅₈ as the negative electrode active materials presented far much higher percentage of capacity retention and were remarkably improved in charge/discharge cycle performance as compared with the lithium secondary batteries in the comparative examples 2 to 5 employing WO₃ or the Li—W composite oxide as the negative electrode active materials.

Further, when the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 26 to 28 were compared with the lithium secondary battery in the above-mentioned example 3 employing the same MnW₉₀O₅₈ as the positive electrode active material, it was found that the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 26 to 28 each employing MnW₁₉O₅₈ as the negative electrode active material presented the further increased percentage of capacity retention. The reason for this is conceivably that the lithium secondary batteries in the examples 26 to 28 each employing MnW₁₉O₅₈ as the negative electrode active material presented the average discharge voltage of approximately 1.1 V, which is lower than that of the lithium secondary battery in the example 3 employing MnW₁₉O₅₈ as the positive electrode active material, whereby the non-aqueous electrolyte solution is prevented from being decomposed.

Although the present examples cited a case where the composite oxide of Mn and W represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈, which is generally represented by MnW₁₉O₅₈, was used as a negative electrode active material, substantially the same results may be attained when W₂₀O₅₈, W₁₈O₄₉, or the composite oxide of Mn and W represented by Mn_(x)W_(y)O₅₈ was used as a negative electrode active material.

Further, although the present examples cited a case where the composite oxide of Mn and W was used as a negative electrode active material, substantially the same results may be attained by the composite oxide of W and one element selected from the group consisting of Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni was used as a negative electrode active material.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A lithium secondary battery, comprising: a positive electrode; a negative electrode; and a non-aqueous electrolyte; wherein said positive electrode or said negative electrode comprises a tungsten composite oxide having a crystal structure of W₂₉O₅₈ or W₁₈O₄₉, in which tungsten metal atoms in the crystal lattice have been replaced by at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni.
 2. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1, wherein: said tungsten composite oxide is chemical formula M_(x)W_(y)O_(z), wherein M denotes at least one metal element selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cu, V, Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni; and the conditions of 0.005<x/(x+y)<0.2 and z=58 or 49 are satisfied.
 3. The lithium secondary battery of claims 1, the electrode comprising said tungsten composite oxide further comprising lithium.
 4. The lithium secondary battery of claim 2, the electrode comprising said tungsten composite oxide further comprising lithium.
 5. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1, said positive electrode comprising said tungsten composite oxide; and said negative electrode comprising a negative electrode active material comprising a carbon material.
 6. The lithium secondary battery of claim 5, said carbon material further comprising lithium.
 7. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1, said negative electrode comprising said tungsten composite oxide; and said positive electrode comprising a positive electrode active material comprising a lithium-containing transition metal oxide.
 8. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1, said non-aqueous electrolyte comprising a solute and an organic solvent.
 9. The lithium secondary battery of claim 8, said organic solvent being selected from the group consisting of cyclic carbonic esters; chain carbonic esters; sulfolane; tetrahydrofuran; 1,3-dioxolane; 1,2-diethoxyethane; 1,2-dimethoxyethane; and ethoxymethoxyethane.
 10. The lithium secondary battery of claim 8, said solute being selected from the group consisting of LiPF₆, LiBF₄, LiCF₃SO₃, LiN(CF₃SO₂)₂, LiN(C₂F₅SO₂)₂, LiN (CF₃SO₂)(C₄F₉SO₂), LiN(CF₃SO₂)₃, and LiC(C₂F₅SO₂)₃.
 11. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1, wherein said non-aqueous electrolyte is a polymer electrolyte comprising a polymer containing a solute.
 12. The lithium secondary battery of claim 11, wherein said polymer in the polymer electrolyte is polyethylene oxide or polyacrylonitrile.
 13. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1, wherein said non-aqueous electrolyte is a gelled polymer electrolyte comprising a polymer impregnated with a non-aqueous electrolyte solution.
 14. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 13, wherein said non-aqueous electrolyte solution comprises an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of cyclic carbonic esters; chain carbonic esters; sulfolane; tetrahydrofuran; 1,2-dioxolane; 1,2-diethoxyethane; 1,2-dimethoxyethane; and ethoxymethoxyethane.
 15. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 13, wherein said non-aqueous electrolyte solution comprises a solute selected from the group consisting of LiPF₆, LiBF₄, LiCF₃SO₃, LiN(CF₃SO₂)₂, LiN(C₂C₂F₅SO₂)₂, LiN(CF₃SO₂)(C₄F₉SO₂), LiC(CF₃SO₂)₃, and LiC(C₂F₅SO₂)₃. 